NZ's newest Hughes 369D takes flight

Registered to TT Helicopters Ltd of Grey Lynn, Auckland back on 06 April 2017,  Hughes 369D ZK-HMT3 MSN 390480D was imported to NZ via Oceania Aviation, Ardmore. It appears the helicopter may have in the last few days conducted its first flight from NZ soil bringing the D model population to 31 units (including 1 Kawasaki model).

From Bluebus we learn the following:

Airframe number 480 off the Hughes 369D production line went to Robert Fuchs, the Swiss Hughes helicopter dealer as HB-IXR for onward sale and delivery to Italy as I-DEBO in November 1979 to the NASA Corporation. Its italian registration was cancelled 24 years later after sale to Sweden. Along the way it was registered G-CIBK to Giuseppe De Vecchi of Milan, Italy on 26 November 2013 and then to Arain Rubensteim of Stockholm, Sweden two days later! The short term UK registration was cancelled 05 December 2013 for it to become SE-JPM with Heliair Sweden AB from 11 December 2013. It was purchased by and subsequently listed to Vertol Systems Co of Tigard, Oregon as N41VS on 10 January 2017 for onward sale to Oceania Aviation of Ardmore before becoming ZK-HMT but it appears it never wore the N marks. 
The earlier ZK-HMT's were a Hughes 369HS which went on to become ZK-HCT5, followed by a Robinson R22 Beta that started as ZK-HXC2 then went on to become ZK-IGG followed by ZK-IMG2!

ZK-HMT soon after landing back at Oceania 28 June following a brief local flight. 

ZK-WGA from the Tower.

Thanks to Scott Cowley we have a better shot of the Waikato Aviation/Waikato Aero Club's

Diamond DA42 Twinstar ZK-WGA (c/n 42.199) which was out for another test flight at Hamilton yesterday (28-06-2017).

Previous shots of ZK-WGA from Scott can be seen Here ,  Here and HERE.

Impulse Aircraft Impulse 100s of New Zealand

The next sport aircraft type to be registered in New Zealand in a very busy 2004 was the Impulse 100, three of which were registered on 13 January 2004.  I remember seeing them being assembled at the glider repair hangar at Drury.

The Impulse was designed by Philipp Steinbach and kits were manufactured by Impulse Aircraft Corp of Rheinmunster, West Germany.  I think they not around anymore although one example has recentlybeen fitted with a 450 HP Alison turboprop!  (Have a look at:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4J-GsGCjHY and especially have a look at the taxyway up to the strip!).  Its construction is from carbon fibre honeycomb, the same as in high performance gliders, and it can be built in tri-gear or tailwheel configurations.

Its length is 20 feet 11 inches and its wingspan is 28 feet 6 inches, with a wing area of 97 square feet.  Empty weight is around 607 pounds and MAUW is 1,041 pounds (471 Kg).  Engines can be in the 80 HP to 120 HP range such as the Jabiru 2200 or 3300, or the Rotax 912.  Cruise is quoted at around 130 knots and the stall speed is quoted as 33 knots.

ZK-LMG (c/n NZ100UTK7J) was first registered on 13/1/04 to McAlpine Aviation Training of Papakura.  On the same day ownership transferred to Impulse (HB) Ltd of Takapau (John and Christine White), then on 14/8/12 to John White of Takapau.  The above photo was taken at Waipukurau.  It was damaged at Kaikoura in February 2012 and finally it was cancelled on 17/6/13 as exported.  Does anyone know where it went?  The whites went on to build a Zenith CH 650 which they registered ZK-LMG2.

ZK-MGT (c/n NZ100UTK9J) was registered on 13/1/04 to Peter C Warren of Napier and it stayed in his ownership until it too was cancelled as exported on 6/5/14.  Again, does anyone know where it went?  It is photo'd above at Waipukurau.

ZK-MPL (c/n NZ100UTK8J) was registered on 13/1/04 to Henderson White Associates of Auckland.  Ownership transferred to JS Walker of Hamilton on 15/1/08 then to CJ Grylls of Te Awamutu on 12/12/09.  It then migrated South to BJ York of Wyndham on 22/9/14 and finally to JD Stewart, also of Wyndham, on 30/10/16.  It is photo'd above at Ardmore on 17/10/07.

Fantastic Flying ZK-ETNZ!

What a fantastic result from Bermuda and we look forward to more flying in Auckland in the next few years.  I took the photo with a very long lens when Team New Zealand were practicing off the North Shore on 28 February this year.

I wonder if CAA will have to create a new class as these boats fly more than they sail?  And they would be faster then many marine ultralights - I'm thinking of the Diehl XTC ZK-XTZ from an earlier post at:  http://nzcivair.blogspot.co.nz/2014/01/diehl-aeronautical-xtcs-of-new-zealand.html

Congratulations Emirates Team New Zealand!

North Shore 26-6-2017

A fine but cool day at North Shore airfield with the Southerly right down the strip saw quite a lot of activity from North Shore Aero Club Robins and a couple of others:

 Cessna 172S ZK-WKT (c/n 172S8647) has been owned by NSAC since 17/4/14..

Beech 76 Duchess ZK-CGW2 (c/n ME-274) has been owned by NSAC since 10/6/13 and was previously VH-CGW.  The first ZK-CGW was a Fieldair Beaver.

Flight Hauraki's Cessna 172N ZK-MDV (c/n 17273249) has been with them since 18/3/10.

And locally owned Robinson R 44 Raven II ZK-INC (c/n 10940) was doing circuits.

A few from Rangiora on Saturday 24-06-2017.

A small selection of aircraft noted at Rangiora in yesterdays winter light.

 Zenair CH701 STOL ZK-JRT (c.n 7-3838) has just changed hands from Glen Heslip of Temuka to Roy Waddingham. Roy's current mount is a share in the Tecnam P92S Echo ZK-PAB

 I have not seen the Denny Kitfox IV U/L ZK-CGT (c/n ADU 147) out for some time. But here it is just back from an outing.

 The Vans RV-6 ZK-MRV (c/n 20334/AACA/2183) recently changed owners to Paul Hunter of Pegasus.

 The Jabiru J230 UL ZK-PSH (c/n J447) is just changing owners from Manukau Microlights Limited  to Colin Ashby of Christchurch.

The Chris Anderson Zenair CH701 STOL ZK-TIA (c/n 7-4514) was one of a batch of aviators that went off to some remote out-landing spot for a Saturday Jolly.

All have been mentioned previously on this site.

Fiji PAC 750s

Nadi based charter company Island Hoppers now operates 3 PAC 750s on inter island charter work, the latest addition being DQ-FFF,  believed previously ZK-JIM.  This joins the earlier two, DQ-KBD and DQ-KBP,  these being rather dwarfed by the Air NZ 777-300 in the last photo..

Mosquito ex TV959/ZK-FHC Flies in the US

The Flying heritage Collection's DH 98 Mosquito T III that flew in New Zealand as ZK-FHC2 has been test flown at their base at Paine Field in Seattle, WA.  An earlier post on it at Ardmore is at http://nzcivair.blogspot.co.nz/2016/09/dh-98-t-iii-mosquito-zk-fhc-airborne.html

The Mosquito has been repainted in the US as NS838 UP-J of 605 Squadron from 1944 which was a night intruder painted with black undersides.  It was the aircraft of Alan Wagner and was named "Wags War Wagon".

Its first US flight was on 23 June 2017, flown by Steve Hinton.

The above screen shots are from the Avspecs Facebook page.

Jodel D 18s of New Zealand

The first Jodel D 18 was registered in New Zealand in January 2004 making it our sixth Jodel type after the D 9, the D 11 and one each of F 11, F 12 and a DR 1051.

The genesis of the D 18 goes back to the 1973 oil crisis when the cost of fuel spiked across the world.  In France, Alain Couchy approached Jean Delemontez (the "del" in Jodel) with an idea to revive the D 11 with a VW engine.  Delemontez worked on the project from which the Jodel DC 1 appeared.  It was actually more like a bigger D 9 but with a more modern wing profile.  It had a length of 5.65 metres, a wingspan of 7.40 metres and a wing area of 9.56 square metres.

The success of the Jodel DC 1 led Jean Delemontez to revise the aircraft and many improvements were made which resulted in the Jodel D 18 Sovereign which first flew in 1984.  One point of difference between the D 18 and earlier Jodels is that the D 18 has an all flying tailplane.  And the new ultralight regulations that came in around the world in the 1990s meant that the D 18 fitted within the Class 2 microlight category in New Zealand.

The D 18's length is 5.70 metres and its wingspan is 7.50 metres with a wing area of 10 square metres.  The wing has flaps.  The empty weight is around 250 Kg and MAUW in New Zealand is 418 Kg.  Engines can range from 1700 cc VWs to Jabiru 2200s to the Rotax 912.  With an 80 HP engine the cruise is around 110 mph (94 knots), and the stall is around 40 mph (34 knots).

We have had six Jodel D 18s in New Zealand to date:

ZK-OWL (c/n 066) was built by Michael A (Mike) Tunnicliffe of Tuakau and it was first registered to him on 12/1/04 and it first flew on 25/1/04.  It is photo'd above very early on in its life at the 2004 SAANZ flyin at Tauranga

Ownership transferred to Peter J Locke of Hokitika on 20/2/13 and it is photo'd above at Hokitika on 10/1/14.  On 21/4/15 ownership changed to the ZK-OWL Syndicate of Dunedin (Tom Grant and Charlie Kenny).

ZK-SCJ (c/n 05-49) was built by Stephen J (Steve) Chilcott at Cambridge and was first registered to him on 15/10/04.  It test flew at Matamata where the above photo was taken on 20/11/04.  It later moved to Ardmore with Steve who went on to build a Nicollier Menestrel and is now working on restoring a Tipsy Nipper.

On 30/6/13 ownership changed to Peter J Bjarnesen of Rotorua and it is photo'd above on its way back to Rotorua from the 2013 Black Sands flyin, on 2/11/13.
,

Jack Godfrey of Hamilton built ZK-JAC4 (c/n 426/1) and first registered it on 21/11/05.  It is powered by a Jabiru 2200 engine and its first flight was on 25/11/05.  It is photo'd above at the 2006 SAANZ flyin at Tauranga, on 5/2/06.

On 25/3/06 ownership transferred to Noel Bailey of Hamilton and later of Raglan, and he still owns it.  It is photo'd above on 1/12/17 at its base at Te Kowhai where it can be seen that it hasn't changed over the years.  Noel is planning to re-power the aircraft with a Rotax 912 engine.

Also photo'd at the 2006 SAANZ flyin at Tauranga is ZK-JPK2 (c/n RG8) which was built by Robbie Gentry (hence the c/n), for Murray G Farr of New Plymouth.  It was first registered on 22/12/05.

On 9/4/08 ownership changed to Chris Pennell and Graeme Main of Christchurch and it was based at Rangiora.  On 28/8/11 Chris Pennell took over sole ownership.  Sadly it was written off after an accident at the Okuku airstrip inland from Loburn on 20/9/14 when it hit a deer fence on an overshoot.  It was cancelled on 7/10/14.

ZK-JVG (c/n GM05) was a project started by Bevin Chamberlain but completed by Graeme Main of Christchurch and first registered on 4/2/11.  It is powered by a Rotax 912 and its first flight was at Rangiora on 31/07/11.

Ownership transferred North to Kevin Potter of Papakura on 28/5/15.  The above photo was taken in a hangar at Te Kowhai on 1/12/16 where it can be seen that it is named "Crazy Horse".

ZK-EDR2 (c/n 301-4) was built by Russell Woods of Christchurch and was first registered to him on 24/8/11.  It is powered by a Continental C-75 from an Ercoupe.  It is photo'd above by Russell Woods.  Russell Woods also built the first ZK-EDR which was a Jodel D 11 which can be seen in an earlier post at:  http://nzcivair.blogspot.co.nz/2011/12/jodel-d18-zk-edr.html

On 23/6/14 ownership transferred to Russell's cousin Rex Woods, also of Christchurch and it is still based at Rangiora.  It is photo'd above on take off from the 2017 RAANZ flyin at Rangiora on 1/4/17.

Cessna 172C ZK-CCF

I am sorry to have to tell you - but I like the earlier Cessna 172's.

The ones with the real engines - Continental O-300 poking out 145hp on a good day.

Also with the 'Johnson Bar' flaps arrangement.

******

This post is about the Cessna 172C Skyhawk ZK-CCF (c/n 49536) which had been allocated the US registration of N2036Y by Cessna Aircraft Company.

A useless piece of info for you - which I've probably mentioned previously - is that in the Cessna's of this period the last two numbers of the c/n were usually the last two numbers of its US registration.

Anyway - It came to NZ thanks to Rural Aviation Ltd of New Plymouth for registration as ZK-CCF on 20-08-1962 before ferry up to the Auckland Aero Club at Ardmore.

Below we see it at Paraparaumu on 17-01-1971

It passed on to F E Pike of Auckland from 23-04-1971, and it was noted below at Dairy Flat on 15-10-1972.

Below we have it in colour at Dairy Flat on 11-06-1973.

Frank sold it on to W K Allen of Tuatapere from 22-01-1976
(after which Frank operated the Cessna 172L ZK-DFX, the 180A ZK-BVG, the 150H ZK-CTD, the unusual Yeoman-Hanes Cropmaster ZK-CDI and from January 1997 the Hughes 269A ZK-HAP2. Still got it I think.

W K Allen also operated a varied collection of aircraft over the years.

R G Horrell of Te Tua, Riverton, was listed from 13-03-1979 and it got a new coat of paint not long afterwards - as seen below at Momona on 19-03-1980 -

                     before ownership passed to Dalhoff and King Ltd on 30-04-1980.
                       They sold it on to Hugh Gilbertson of Gore from 14-09-1981.
                          Hugh purchased the Mooney ZK-CKF in July 1982 and sold ZK-CCF 
                                             to L S Stretter of Christchurch as from 04-10-1982.
Somewhere about this time (late 80's - early 90's) it was converted to Lycoming power - as can be    seen by the single exhaust stack on starboard side, the two air intakes in the cowling either side of the spinner shape. 

It was relisted on 24-01-1991 to Stockbuilt Manufacturing Co Ltd of Christchurch and is seen below (from both sides) near the CAA hangar on 15-01-1991.

It moved up to Napier with John Finlay Motors Ltd from late January of 1995 and then on to C R Bowden of Mangonui from February 1996 and then quickly moved to Quantum learning NZ Ltd of Kerikeri from 23-04-1996. Then followed a transfer over to the Bay of Islands Aero Club at Kerikeri on 24-05-2005.

Next listed owner was Errin Hallen of Whangamata from 27-12-2007.

Below we see it at Thames on 08-02-2008 still carrying 'Quantum College of Aviation' signage on its fuselage.

Then - below - as seen at Thames on 15-03-2009 without the signage.

And at Whitianga on 28-01-2012.

Jack Mounsey of Picton took it over from 13-04-2016 and we see it below at Tauranga on 07-06-2017 in a new paint scheme.

Whangarei Pitts ZK-JNW

I have never actually seen the Pitts S-1S ZK-JNW in the flesh.  However a recent trawl around the web turned up the Whangarei Flying Club Facebook page with some nice air to air shots of it over the Whangarei Heads area.  So herewith with their approval (thanks Rusty):

 Peter Garlic flying and Paul Shaw behind the lens.

ZK-JNW is owned by Don McMillan from Kaikohe but it is mainly based at Whangarei along with Don's other biplane, his recently purchased Steen Skybolt ZK-RSC.  Don also owns a couple of Mooneys.

ZK-NCD back in the air

Flying today from Tauranga - I believe for the first time since 2005 - was the Rutan VariEze ZK-NCD (c/n AACA/439)

 Above is a screenshot from a video 

Above is an RNZAF Texan  II NZ1403 which had just completed a couple of circuits and stopped for lunch.

In the rear is ZK-NCD taxiing back after its flight.

This VariEze was built by Charlie Down of Gisborne and registered using his initials to become ZK-NCD on 27-10-1988. Charlie was an ex Ag pilot with Aerial Farming, Aerial Projects and Fieldair before retiring in about 1977.

It was sold to Alan Monnox of Lyttelton and was based at Christchurch International untl sold to Tacan NZ Ltd of Mount Maunganui from 14-12-2015.

Below is a shot of ZK-NCD taken at Christchurch on 07-11-2007.

ZK-WGA

Added to our register on 28-04-2017 for the Waikato Aero Club (Inc) [Waikato Aviation] was the Diamond DA 42 Twin Star ZK-WGA (c/n 42.199).

It is seen here outside the Aeromotive Ltd hangar at Hamilton last Thursday.

Below is what the NZ Aviation News Magazine said about it recently.

Another of the three Diamond DA 42 Twin Star’s that were trucked into Aeromotive Ltd at Hamilton last October has graduated onto our register. 

Initially allocated the Diamond factory test registration of OE-VPI it migrated down to Australia to become VH-FGO with Fugro Financial Resources B.V of Jandakot West Australia on 21-11-2006 for operations by Fugro Airborne Surveys Pty Ltd. This aircraft spent five weeks in NZ in 2009 on survey work with its long nose mounted anomaly boom. 

It became ZK-WGA on 28-04-2017 listed with the Waikato Aero Club (Inc) at Hamilton. 

The 'GA' of the registration being the initials of a Club Life member.

It has been blogged previously as VH-FGO see HERE

CTC Aviation

The training aircraft from the CTC Hamilton based fleet are regular visitors to Pauanui,  and lately they have had a subtle addition to their titling  by way of "an L3 company"  reflecting the ownership of CTC by US company L3 Technologies.   Cessna 172S's ZK-CDW and ZK-CTA reflect this as below.